Minutes of the regular May 19, 2008 meeting of the
North Fork Community Development Council
North Fork Mill Site, North Fork California

The meeting was called to order at 5:35 by Vice President Sandy Chaille. Present were Gerrit Allen, Steve Christianson, Joanne Freemire, Maryann McGovran, Richard McQuone and Dan Rosenberg. Absent were Kirsten Englund, Stuart Pincus and Mary Proper. A quorum was present. Also in attendance were Grant Administrator Jill Mross and Recorder Volney Dunavan. Guests were Joanne Griffin and Jeannie Habben.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited and the agenda was approved as annotated, which was with the removal of the item 11.4 asbestos contract negotiation from the closed session, and also moving the Central Sierra Watershed Committee Report ahead of the Grant Administrator’s Report. This was to accommodate the Watershed Committee report presenter. (Allen/Rosenberg/unanimous) It was also noted that the meeting is being taped for the CDC records.There was no Public Comment.

Jeannie Habben spoke on the Upper San Joaquin River Stewardship Council which is a project taking place in this area utilizing a grant from the Department of Water Resources in Fresno County. Steve Haze is Project Manager. Since a fork of the river above Millerton Lake goes into Madera County, Jeannie will be Project Manager for that portion which goes through North Fork, Bass Lake and Cascadel. The work will be done as two different groups and then the information will be combined. The grant has been received for a two year study. The project has nothing to do with writing rules or regulations, only to gather the existing information and make recommendations. Fresno State students will be compiling a lot of the materials. There have been two community informational meetings and a team building workshop. There will be a team building workshop May 31 from 9 a.m. to 2:30, in Tollhouse at the Sierra Oaks Senior and Community Center behind Sierra High School. The organizational meeting will follow on June 10 at 6 p.m. in the US Forest Service offices here in North Fork. The Bureau of Reclamation is one of the project partners as is the USFS. Gerrit said PG&E has watershed infrastructure plans which can be accessed by the Bureau of Land Management. Fresno is on a 1000 year floodplain. 65% of California water comes from the Sierras. Joanne will represent Cascadel at the meeting and will bring us information if no one else attends from this group.Jeannie did mention there is a lot of starthistle and scotch broom up here, and the Arundo which is in the Valley is moving up here. It looks like bamboo; there is a lot of it on Highway 99.

Jill gave the Grant Administrator’s Report.
• Grant 240 will end August 9. According to the HUD grant, if funds are obligated by that date, they can be liquidated no later than 90 days following. Jill is checking into the commercial general liability insurance as we currently are paying only for the actual CDC building and a small amount of land surrounding it. She also is checking into the possibility of paying two or three years premium. Any money not obligated will reverse back to HUD. The topic of insurance will be further discussed and acted upon as item 1. under Old Business (below).
• Grant 250 is on hold and is scheduled for discussion at the upcoming meeting with the County, presently scheduled for the first week in June.
• EPA Grant 11 had six proposals which have been narrowed down to three. Now the Certified Asbestos Consultant will be brought on, then the contractor will be chosen and the abatement work can begin. It is anticipated this will begin by the beginning of July. Marc Mandel was encouraged to contact bidders and offer a link as subcontractor. The Management Board will follow this.

At the last meeting, Jill had expressed concern about the CDC being able to follow-up on invoices that we forward to the County for payment. There appears to be a system which will take care of this program. Unfortunately, pollution liability insurance is not considered an administration expense.

Following the change of the word met to meet in the combined Section 8.b and 8.c (regarding the Management Board, the Minutes were approved as corrected. (Christainson/Freemire/2 abstentions)

Mary left the Treasurer’s Report as she could not be here. Non-energy billings repay PG&E for the huge discout which was given us during the placement of underground electricity infrastructure, based on presumed future energy use. The financial status report was approved. (McGovran/Allen/unanimous)

Discussion and Action Items:

9.a.1 Jill recommend we go with James River Insurance Company (general liability insurance) for an annual premium of $9,781.25 even if there is no discount. Funding was approved for premium up to two years, not to exceed $19,462.50. (Christianson/Rosenberg/unanimous)

9.A.2 The May 6, 2008 meeting of the Madera County Board of Supervisors had the fire station on the agenda. There were two documents. The first directed staff to negotiate with Sierra Ambulance for funding and also to establish the actual site. The second directed staff to enter into a contract with both Sierra Ambulance and the CDC, and to obtain proposals to start the selection process for an architect. There was further discussion of the extended history of the proposed new station. Originally Sierra Ambulance had wanted to be part of the funding mechanism. Now, rather that fronting the full amount, they will only be fronting their portion. The design standard for the mill site will be brought to front and center.

9.A.3 The Management Committee was formed. Steve Christianson is the Chair; other members are Gerrit Allen, Maryann McGovran, Stuart Pincus and Mary Proper. (Freemire/McQuone/unanimous)

9.A.4 The immediate need of site cleanup is weed wacking for fire safety and litter by the road. It was decided that all who could would come to a CDC cleanup morning on Sunday June 8 from 7 to 11. Bring gloves and weedwackers. Rich will ask Steve Parks if we can borrow his DR weedwacker. Goal is cleanup not only around the building but in those areas visible from the road.

9.A.5 Some members of the newly elected Management Board did meet earlier this week. There seems to be a continuing issue around the Model Plane Club. Noise, times of activity, ongoing animosity and distraction of on site workers are all areas of concern. An updated insurance certificate will be requested. If the rules given them are not being followed, they need to stop. Referred to the Management Board.

9.B.1 Steve reported that we have not applied for any new grants since the river parkway which was not funded. Now we are pulling together with some focus as a board, and also are recognizing there are some specific things we need to look at. Jill was authorized to research grants for specific needs appropriate to the CDC’s mission, such research to be funded from the HUD 240 grant. (Freemire/Allen/unanimous) Jill would be discussing her findings with the Board before moving forward. Because our mission covers all of North Fork and not just the mill site, we can apply for grants for projects in other areas.

9.B.2 The Management Board report was moved the closed session.

9.B.3 The Planning Committee will meet this Wednesday, May 21, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jill has found a couple of grants that can be talked about and the mechanism for community input also needs to be discussed. The body would be advisory only.After lengthy discussion, a motion was made to appoint Dan Rosenberg as Interim Chairman of the Planning Committee and (to empower him) to adopt the procedures for membership as the Planning Committee deems appropriate. By unanimous decision, the motion was tabled until after the closed session.

Organizational Reports
• The North Fork Arts Council is holding the Arts Festival on June 7 from 10 to 4. It will be a lot of fun. Musical groups include the Yosemite Jazz Band, Smiley Mountain Band, and hopefully some flute players. Paul Abram is handling the booths and Joanne is taking care of entertainment. At the Arts Council booth, they will be making wearable art t-shirts.
• Hopefully everyone has noticed the town’s new directional sign, a project overseen by the North Fork Chamber. Hopefully, this will be the first of numerous carvings throughout town. One thing not being actively promoted is the Exact Center of the State; there could be a small park.
• The North Fork Rancheria signed a gaming compact with the Governor. This is a huge milestone in the quest for a casino on Highway 99. They are starting to develop the land where the bank used to be; there will be low income housing and a new Tribal TANF office there. They also received another ICBG grant for two handicap accessible elder homes which would have a path to the community center.
• The report on the Fire Department was given above.

Following a 5 minute break, the members moved to closed session. Prior to the break there was a motion to include the recorder, Volney Dunavan, in all closed sessions of the NFCDC. (Allen/Christianson/unanimous)

The body returned to open session at 9:45

The motion about the Planning Committee listed in 9.B.3 above carried. (Allen/Freemire/unanimous)

The Board also took the following action:
• Moved to retain Mr. Robert Doty as attorney for the NFCDC. This reaffirms a majority (quorum) CDC vote taken April 7, 2008. (Allen/Christianson/unanimous)
• Moved to approve the President of the NFCDC to send a memo to the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs, clarifying NFCDC ownership and intent of mill site use. (Allen/McQuone/unanimous with 1 recused)
• Moved to authorize the President to present the conceptual framework as presented to the Board in closed session, to the County meeting in June, the framework to have appropriate modifications. (McQuone/Rosenberg/unanimous)
• Moved to authorize the President to work with Jones & Snyder to complete a schematic site development map for the mill site property, not to exceed $10,000 from the 240 grant. (Rosenberg/McQuone/unanimous)
• Moved to use the office previously rented by Steve Christianson as a CDC workspace. (Rosenberg/McQuone/unanimous with 1 abstention)

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:56.

Respectfully submitted,
Volney Dunavan, Recorder